Meghalaya will have highest per capita income: Minister

There are enough resources in Meghalaya, which if judiciously harnessed have the potential of making the people of the state prosperous enough with the highest per capita income in the country, Deputy Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said on Thursday.

"People of Meghalaya will have highest per capita income in the country. There are resources," Sangma, who is in charge of Finance said during the course of his reply to the discussion on the budget for 2009-2010 in the assembly.

Stating that the government would initiate policies to divert the attention of the youth from white-collar jobs to the farming sector, Sangma said the government intends to tap the vast resources in the horticulture sector.

The government has focused on tourism and agricultural sector. So there has been a quantum increase in both the sectors in this years budget, he said.

The allocation for tourism has been increased from Rs 3.75 crore in 2008-09 to Rs 13.45 crore in the budget for 2009-10, the allotment for agriculture has been hiked from Rs 56.9 crore in the last fiscal to Rs 142.66 crore in the current budget, he pointed out.

To increase the income generation level of all categories of the farming people, the government will tap all resources,he iterated.